Unit 2 Marketing Essentials - Amazon

Unit 2. Marketing essentials

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY ..................................................................................................................................1
P1) Different Roles and Responsibilities of the Marketing Functions...................................1
P2) Analysis of Roles and Responsibilities of Marketing in Wider Organisational Context 2
P3) Comparison of Marketing Mix of Amazon and Ebay.....................................................4
P4) Development of Basic Marketing Plan............................................................................7
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES .............................................................................................................................12

INTRODUCTION
Marketing is defined as the process which starts with process of idea generation
regarding any product or service and ends with the satisfaction of customers (What Is
Marketing? Definition And Meaning, 2019). In other words, it can also be said that marketing is
the process which identifies the needs and requirements and also satisfies the needs of customers
in an effective way. The company chosen for the completion of this assignment is Amazon
which is an American Multinational Company, founded in the year 1994. The company is
headquartered in Seattle, Washington, U.S. The operations of Amazon are carried out worldwide
and is also offering various types of products and services to their customers such as amazon
alexa, amazon appstore, amazon music, amazon prime, amazon video and many more. The net
revenue of the company for the year ended 2018 was approximately US$232.887 Billion.
Currently the number of employees working in the company are approx. 6,47,500.
The assignment starts with focusing on the key roles and responsibilities of the marketing
function and also how they relate to the wider organisational context. In addition to this, the
assignment will also cover and make its focus on the comparison in between Amazon and Ebay's
different Marketing Mix decisions made by them to the marketing planning in order to achieve
organisational objectives. At last, the assignment will produce a basic marketing plan for the
newly developed product names as “Amazon Food Items”.
MAIN BODY
P1) Different Roles and Responsibilities of the Marketing Functions
The marketing function is one of the most important function in an organisation which
provides the company with the needed information about the market such as the needs and
demands of the customers (Baker and Magnini, 2016).
Expanded model of the marketing process- This is a kind of model which is related to the
understanding of the marketing place, need and demand of the customers. Apart from it, this
model includes research to gather the information regarding to the customer requirement. Herein,
the diagram of the marketing process is mentioned below:
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In the context of Amazon, this function also plays an important role as the work of this company
is to provide services to their customers and for this, it is also needed that they should have
proper knowledge about the company and the products and services offered by them. This
information helps the customers to develop their demands for the offerings provided by the
company.
So the explanation of different roles of marketing are provided as under:
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Customer Satisfaction: It is the role of marketing to ensure the satisfaction of customers
from the products and services provided by the company to their customers. As these
departments directly contacts to the customers and have the knowledge of their taste and
preference so this will help them in making the product in accordance with the need and demand
of customers and maintain their satisfaction level (Blythe and Martin, 2019).
Market Analysis and Research: Marketing helps the company in knowing about the
needs and demands of the customers in the market. It helps the company in preparing about the
future and to develop new strategies so that the company could have the knowledge about what
could be the preference of people in the near future.
Strategy Development: It is also the role of marketing to develop those strategies for the
company that could prove to be most useful and effective for the company. Organisations first
analyse the situations and on the very basis they develop their strategies that suit best to the
target market.
Managing Market Budget: The budget for the marketing activities is approved by the Finance
Department. So now it becomes the responsibility of the marketing manager to complete all the
required tasks in the approved budget. As finance is also needed to in order to carry out other
activities of the company also (Faßmann and Moss, 2016). The marketing department of
Amazon is also keeping an eye on the changing environment and is also preparing their
strategies to deal in accordance with these changes. As the proper marketing budget will help the
company to carry out all the needed activities in an effective way that the budget could not face
any deficit.
Marketing Mix: This is the combination of various kind of marketing elements which helps in
the marketing activities of companies. It consists price, product, place and promotion. Like in the
amazon company they can use this function for their marketing functions.
Marketing in B2C and B2B:
B2B - Business to business also known as B to B or B2B, is a form of transaction between
businesses, such as one involving a manufacturer and wholesaler, or a wholesaler and a retailer.
Business to business simply refers to business that is conducted between companies, rather than
between a company and individual consumers. Business to business stands in contrast to
business to consumer (B2C) and business to government (B2G) transactions.
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B2C- Whereas, business-to-consumer (B2C) refers to the process of selling products and
services directly between consumers who are the end-users of its products or services. a business
model, business-to-consumer differs significantly from the business-to-business model, which
refers to commerce between two or more businesses. Like in the amazon company they can
expand their business through directly sell of products to the customers.
P2) Analysis of Roles and Responsibilities of Marketing in Wider Organisational Context
Like the environment of an organisation, the marketing environment of an organisation is
also related to various factors that could impact upon the working of the company. This
environment influences upon the decision making process of the company so it becomes
important for the company also to take into consideration these aspects also. The description is
provided as under:
Management of Brand: The first and important role of marketing is to manage the brand of
their company by properly and timely communicating to the management of the company. This
will help in creating a good image in the mind of customers and will ensure proper growth and
development of the company. Amazon could also manage its brand by timely focusing on the
market conditions and adopt suitable strategies that could help in maintaining properly the image
of the company.
Market Analysis and Research: Another important role played by marketing is about the
analysing the needs and demands of the customers in the market and also about finding new
aspects of the development of product or the market that could prove to be successful in
enhancing the growth and development of the company (Hair Jr and et. al., 2015). With the help
of proper market analysis and research, it will be easy for the company to develop suitable
strategies that could help the company in achieving competitive advantage over the competitors.
Amazon with the help of market analysis and research could easily know about the needs and
demands of the customers so that they could make changes in their existing products and
services according to the suitability of customers.
Interrelationship of Marketing Function with Other Departments
In an organisation, the departments of the company are interconnected with each other.
The work of each department is different from one another but the common goal of the company
makes them interrelated to each other. Marketing is related to the promotion of the products and
services of the company. Likewise, the other departments in an organisation also plays important
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role in making the company to achieve its goals and objectives. The interrelation in between
marketing and other departments of the company are provided as under: Like in the amazon
company marketing is linked up with the other department such as research & development,
finance and production.
Marketing and Research & Development: Marketing department is directly in contact with the
customers of the company. So, marketing could provide guidance to the R&D Department about
the needs and demands of the customers in the market and on the basis of provided information,
the research could be initiated. Additionally, the marketing department can make evaluation of
the idea suggested by Research and Development Department whether it is feasible or not
because the marketing department is aware about the needs and demands of customers. In this
way, marketing is related to research and development (Lane, 2016). For example in the amazon
company, they conduct research with the help of marketing.
Marketing with Finance: Marketing also plays an important role with finance department. It is
so because in the marketing different promotional activities are carried out and for this,
marketing department needs finance. So the budget or finance to the marketing department is
provided by the finance and this helps the marketing in carrying out the necessary activities in a
successful way. For example in the amazon company, they can analyse about how much fund
will be needed for different activities with the help of marketing.
Marketing with Production: Marketing department is also related with the production
department of an organisation. It is so because marketing, as in the direct contact with the
customers, have the proper knowledge and idea of the market that helps the production
department in making estimation about the demand for the future and on this basis, the
production is carried out by the production department of an organisation. For example in the
amazon company, they can manage the supply and demand of their products according to the
marketing activities.
The following interrelation and dependency of departments on each other is important
and essential as the proper and smooth working of these departments could make sure for the
company to achieve their goals and objectives (Malhotra, 2015). Amazon with the help of
coordination and cooperation among different departments of its company can achieve its
objectives successfully. Due to this reason, the interdependency and interrelation of marketing
department with other departments is important for the company.
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P3) Comparison of Marketing Mix of Amazon and Ebay
Marketing Mix can be defined as the combination of different activities that influences
the decisions of the customers related to the product. The explanation of the marketing mix of
these two companies is provided as under:
Basis Amazon Ebay
Product In the following strategy, the
decisions related to the product
of an organisation are taken. In
case of Amazon, this is the
leader of e commerce industry.
The business was firstly
started with selling books
online and later the business
was expanded by providing
various products and services
to the customers such as online
facilities of streaming music,
videos, fashion and many
more.
Ebay started its online business
as e business and alter on the
business of the company
extended to products which the
company started to provide
online to their customers that
helped the company in creating
and increasing its market
existence and customer’s base.
In them main products of the
company, home appliances and
electronic items are included.
Price The prices of the products and
services of Amazon are
dependent on seasonal and
occasional conditions.
However, the company is
making use of competitive
pricing. In this type of pricing
the company makes use of that
price which is charged by the
competitors of the company
(Mueller and et. al., 2015).
Related to the prices decision
of Ebay the company makes
use of premium pricing. The
company charges the price for
their products and services
depending upon the quality,
size, features and benefits to
the customers by making use
of the products.
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Place Place refers to the distribution
channel used by the company
to access the reach of their
products and services to the
customers. It is making use of
direct channel of distribution
in which the customer himself
places the order to Amazon
and it is delivered by Amazon.
E bay is also on online
business platform that provides
their customers with better
services by effectively making
use of services. In the place the
company also delivers their
services online to the
customers.
Promotion It refers to all those activities
which are used in order to
enhance the sales of the
products and services of the
company (Nirschl and
Steinberg, 2018). Amazon
delivers its services through
online mode, so the company
is making use of advertising in
televisions, SEOs and also of
social media marketing in
order to promote the sales of
their products and services.
This following online business
is also popular in the world
because of its services and the
promotional tool used by the
company in order to promote
the sales of their products and
services is online in which the
company makes use of blogs,
website, print media, etc. in
order to enhance the sale of its
products.
People People refer to the workforce
that is required in order to
complete the day to day
activities of the organisation
and their contribution could
help the company in the
achievement of their goals and
objectives. In the following
Management of Ebay is having
good relation with their
employees as the rules and
regulations of the company are
capable enough to protect the
interest of their employees and
feel them comfortable to work.
The satisfaction of employees
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company, it provides benefit to
their employees such as bonus,
incentives, performance based
incentives in order to increase
the morale of their employees.
is put at the first preference.
Process Amazon with the help of
competitive staff is able to
make the successful
accomplishment of their work.
It is so because the company
focuses on delegation of
authority in the processes
which provides the customers
with new experiences and
increase their skills and
capabilities. Employees are not
specialised in one task only but
they are made capable to
handle more than one task
because of the large operations
of the business.
Ebay has also developed their
processes in a systematic and
sequential way which makes
the employees clear with their
own roles and responsibilities
that are important for the
company's success (Pappas,
2017).
Physical Evidence Looking upon this strategy, the
company is having its presence
all over the world. In addition
to this, the company have its
customer care centres spread
across all over the world where
the customers could get proper
resolution of their questions
and queries.
As from the name it is clear
that this company is also
having its presence all over the
world to provide the customers
with their products and
services. The financial report
of the company is helpful in
knowing about the position of
the company in the market.
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P4) Development of Basic Marketing Plan
Marketing Plan can be defined as the document prepared in order to make estimation
about the future activities to be carried out in an organisation related to the marketing. It is an
important document that helps the company in proper development and execution of their
marketing activities in relation to some product or service. In case of Amazon, the following plan
will prove to be very helpful for the company as it will provide the company with various
important activities which are required in order to carry out the marketing activities of the
company in an efficient and effective manner (Pike, 2015).
Overview of the Company
Amazon is an American Multinational Company which is headquartered in Seattle,
Washington (Pike, 2016). The company was founded in the year 1994 and is providing various
online services to their customers such as online fashion and retail services, Amazon Music,
Amazon Kindle, Amazon Prime, Amazon Alexa and many more services to their customers. At
the earliest the company started its business by making the sales of books online and this
business was later on developed and expanded to more areas such as now the company is
providing various other facilities to their customers along with the online books. Further the
company is also employing currently approx 6,47,500 employees in the company. The website of
the company is www.amazon.com. The company has developed a new product which is named
as “Amazon Sounds” The marketing plan for the new product developed by the company is
provided as under:
Situational Analysis
PESTLE analysis- It is a kind of analysis which is being used for the analysis of macro
environment. This consists various kind of factors which are as follows:
 Political factor- This is a kind of factor that is related to the political condition of any
country. If political condition is stable then it will be easy for the companies to conduct
the business as well as if political condition is not stable then it will impact to the
business. Like in the amazon company if political situation is unstable then they will not
be able to expand their services in multi-pal countries.
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 Economical factor- It is a kind of factor which consists interest rate, exchange rate etc. If
these rates flex then it become difficult to operate any business. Same as in the amazon
company, certain changes in these rates can impact their business.
 Social factor- This factor includes culture, religion, like, dislike of the people. As per this
factor, companies makes their plans and policies. Like in the amazon company, they
delivers their products and services as per this factor.
 Technological factor- Technology is a factor which is continuously changing so it is
necessary for the companies to update their plans and policies accordingly. Herein, the
aspect of the amazon company, they are required to bring new and advanced techniques
in their operations.
 Legal factor- In this factor various kind of laws, rules and frameworks includes which are
directed by the government of any particular country. Such as in the amazon company,
they are required to follow all the rules and laws of country in which they operates their
business.
 Environmental factor- It is a type of factor which is related to the environmental
conditions and natural climates. This factor is not under control of the companies. Like if
any natural disaster occurs in America then it will directly impact to the amazon
company's business.
SWOT Analysis
The following analysis is used in order to know about the internal capabilities and
external opportunities and threats to an organisation. The following analysis is used in order to
know about the strengths and weaknesses and opportunities and threats to an organisation. The
explanation of this analysis is provided as under:
Strengths
 The global access to the markets is the strength of the company as the services of the
company has wide reach.
 Additionally, the good customer service of Amazon also makes the company different
from other companies.
 The investment in R&D done by the company has put it year forwards as compared to its
competitors.
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Weaknesses
 The free delivery service provided by the company impacts upon the profit margin of the
company.
 Sometimes customers also cheats the company such as asking for refunds even after the
product has been delivered, this also adversely effects the profitability level of the
company (Piñeiro-Otero and Martínez-Rolán, 2016).
 Increase in the competitors and low literacy level of people in some countries also
restricts the use of online services by them those impacts upon the sales of the company.
Opportunities
 In some developing countries, the access of the company's services has not reached to all
people, so there are chances for the company to increase the access of their products and
services to the company.
 Amazon could also make use of merger in order to acquire the small firms in some
countries that could help the company in increasing its market share (Puddle, 2015).
Threats
 The threat is from the new entrants to the company as the barriers to enter in the industry
are very low so the competition could be a threat for the company from the new entrants.
 In every country, there are some local e commerce retailers that could also be a threat to
the company as they also consume some of the market share (Purvis, 2015).
Objectives
The SMART Objectives developed by Amazon for the new product are discussed as
under:
 To make the sales of the new product to 10 % in the next 6 months.
 To increase the market share by 14% in the next 8 months.
 To increase the profit level of the company to 15% in the next 10 months.
 To decrease the cost of production to 2% in the next 1 year.
STP (Segmentation Targeting Positioning)
Segmentation: It can be defined as the process by which the customers of an area are
divided into smaller groups so that the products and services could be developed and provided to
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them according to their needs and demands keeping in mind the satisfaction level of customers.
Amazon has also segmented their customers on the basis of their location and demographics
(Rancati, Gordini and Capatina, 2016).
Targeting: It can be defined as method used to know about the potential and commercial
attractiveness of each segment. The main target of the customers are those people who are more
active on social media sites and the companies advertisements are also made on social media
sites so this will help in increasing awareness about the products and services of the company.
Positioning: The Company is world class leader in providing good quality products and
services to their customers. In addition to this, the company also handles the problems of their
customers in very polite way which differentiates it from other companies. Due to the good
quality of products and services and the safety of money of the people as in case, the people do
not like the product than the company provides additional services such as “return” to their
customers in which the company makes re-payment of the amount taken from customers. This
reason makes people to buy the products and services from the company (Rowley, 2016).
Action Plan
Product The company has developed new product “Amazon Sound” which provides a
new listening effect to the users. The headphone is on ear fit to minimise the noise so as to hear
every beat of the music. It is designed with portability and storage in mind and the product is
also having 2 year warranty in case of any defect occurs during the use of the product. The
product will be available only in white colour.
Promotion The company is having large customer base and the visit of customers to the
site is also large. So on the homepage of the website, the company is going to display the
advertisement of this product so that the customers could become aware about it. Additionally,
the company will also make use of social media sites to make the people aware about the
product.
Price The price of the product will be based on skimming the pricing policy as firstly the
product will be sold at low prices because of low awareness and after that the prices will be
increased as the awareness increases.
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Place The sales of this product of the company will only be available at the official
website of the company.
Budget Allocation
The budget estimated for this product of the company is £ 200,000. It has been set to low
because at the initial the production of the product will be carried out on short basis as in case the
product could not get much success in the market and in case the product succeed than the
production will be carried over.
Financial Forecast
It can be defined as forecasting about the finance needed in order to carry out the future
activities of the company related to this product. The estimation of the estimated costs has been
provided as under:
Particulars Amount (£)
Raw Materials £ 60000
Labour Expenses £ 40000
Machinery and Equipments £ 55000
Marketing £45000
Total £ 200,000
Sales The sales of the products estimated by the company in the first one month are 50000 units.
Profit The initial profit margin decided by the company over the products is 2% over the prices
of the product.
Market Share The estimation about the increase in the market share of the company is made at
7%.
Control
In order to monitor and control the activities of employees working in the organisation,
the company has decided to make use of Key Performance Indicators which will help the
company in comparing the past performance of the company with current performance of the
company. This will be helpful for the company to know about the areas of deviation and also
about the ways to eradicate them (Ryom and et. al., 2016).
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CONCLUSION
From the above assignment it has been concluded that marketing is an important part of
an organisation that performs very severe and crucial functions that impacts upon the
productivity and profitability of the organisation. It is also important for the successful running if
an organisation that not only the marketing but also the other departments should work in a
coordinated way so as to achieve the goals and objectives of the company. In addition to this, the
comparison of marketing mix also provides the company with the needed grounds for
improvement in which the competitor is performing well. Lastly, it is concluded that marketing
plan is essential for the company to develop good strategies for the future to ensure sustainable
growth and development of the organisation.
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<https://marketbusinessnews.com/financial-glossary/marketing-definition-meaning/>
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